Tangents and Vectors

An Idea Borrowed

Years ago on a radio program someone shared that they read a chapter in Proverbs every day. Since there are 31 chapters and the longest month has 31 days it allows you to read through Proverbs on a regular basis. I use it as the launch pad for my personal worship time and branch out from there. On this blog I will try to share some of the insights I have in the Word. I will try to organize them in the archive by reference.

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

A Double Standard

(Proverbs 24:12 KJV) If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?

When a student would pass me in the hall and say, “See you next period” I would often respond with, “Is that a promise or a threat?” I feel the same way about this verse. It has two statements that can be good or bad, depending on my mood of the moment. The first is that God “pondereth” (weighs NASB) (8505) our “hearts” (3820). On the good side, when we mess up in spite of the best of intentions, God knows what was the desire of our heart. On the bad side, when we do a hallelujah chorus with the wrong motivation He also knows what is going on inside.

The second is that He is going to “render” (7725) according to our “works” (6467). This points out that God expects us to live obedient lives. Yes, we are saved by grace. That simply means we can never do enough to deserve forgiveness and salvation is God’s gift in spite of that. However, that is no excuse for living debauched lives.

So? Take it as a both/and moment. God sees what we do and knows why we do it. Fear and rejoice.

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Followers

Bible Text

I prefer the NASB for my study but I will be using the KJV as the text I post. I do this because I do not understand the copyright restrictions. If I ever get a better grasp of the law I may change the text I list. We may be under grace rather than law, but others are not so free. My comments will try to make it clear what the differences are.

Greek and Hebrew

In the comments there will be reference to words and the original languages. Number in parenthesis, (1235), refer to the number from Strong's Numbering system.

An Invitation

The theme of this blog is devotional, worshipful, Biblical. I have a lot of ideas that won't fit in that frame so I have started another blog. It is called Medley of Worship.

You are invited to visit me there. It includes Bible and theology but also politics, education and anything else that comes to my mind.

About Me

I have been a serious follower of Jesus Christ since my senior year in high school. I am a Vietnam Veteran who came home more patriotic than I left. I am a graduate of Nazarene Theological Seminary and an ordained elder although I an not currently serving in a pastoral position. I have what I consider an orthodox faith set in the context of Wesley and Arminius. I share this so you will know where I am coming from as I look at the word.